Festival of Faith & Music

Calvin College

/ Presenters

Lenny Smith

Lenny Smith was raised a Protestant by a Catholic mother, until he was 12. He became a Catholic just to be with his mother on Sundays...she was that awesome! After high school, he entered seminary and remained for seven years, studying for the priesthood. He received a B.A. in Philosophy and pursued a Masters in Theology and a Masters in English Literature, completing neither. In 1970, he married the lovely Marian, who gave him five wonderfully creative children, known to some as the Danielson Famile. After 38 years, Marian is still with him and his kids don't hate him! He is a happy man. He has written about 170 songs since 1965, among them a song your parents used to sing, “Our God Reigns.” If he waits a little longer, he expects to be back in vogue. He has had New Jerusalem Music Publishing for over 30 years and represents such luminaries as Wovenhand (formerly 16 Horsepower), Halfhanded Cloud, Danielson and Sufjan Stevens. His job is to find placements for their tracks in music, TV and ads. Their job is to say "no" most of the time. So far, everyone is doing their jobs.